Isabael, My Love
by knives4588
Summary: Isabael now enters into Katherine's life. Will her wicked plan deter Katherine or will Cat find a friend in her and help her accomplish what she has set out to do? Cat will soon find that she is not the only young girl that Alucard is interested in.
1. A New Beginning

**I hope you enjoy this next story. Dont forget to review **

A New Beginning

_ring ring ring…ring ring ring_

Walter rolled over and awoke from a deep sleep. He reached out to his bed side lamp, but missed and knocked the phone onto the floor.

"Hello? Helloooo? Walter? Can you hear me?" a high angelic voice called out from the receiver.

Walter froze for a moment as he listened to the person on the phone. It could not be who he thought it was. He must just be dreaming. He reached for the lamp again and switched it on.

"Hello? Walter answer me it's important," the voice sounded urgent, but not hysterical in any way.

Walter reached down and picked up the phone. It could only be one person at this hour, "What is wrong Isabael?"

"It's about time what were you doing?" the girl's urgent tone subsided.

"It is three in the morning. I was asleep. Is everything okay?" Walter lay back in bed and rubbed his eyes. It had been ages since he had heard from her. It was not a good thing that she was calling now.

"No," she paused.

Walter sat back up, "What has happened?"

"They came around one. We had only just gone to bed when I heard them down stairs. Before I was even out of bed she was in my room tossing that stupid rope ladder she insisted on getting out the back window. I told her it made more sense if I just stayed inside. You know how good a shot I am Walter I could have helped," the girl paused again and Walter strained his ear to try and hear crying. It was silent.

"What happened next?" Walter slid out of bed and began to get dressed with the phone tucked between his ear and shoulder.

"I don't really know I guess. I came out to the root cellar and locked it. They must be complete morons because I haven't even seen them come out here looking yet. For all I know they've left. I'd like to leave too and soon," she huffed the last part like someone who had been spoiled as a child.

"And your mother?" Walter was afraid for what her answer might be.

"She's dead," it was a blunt statement with not much feeling.

"I'm so sorry Isabael. I'll be there as soon as I can. I didn't expect this to happen so soon. It's going to be hard to explain," he headed for the bedroom door to leave.

"It will take you too long to get here Walter. You know it's close to a three hour drive. Even if you take the helicopter it's an hour and then you would have to explain why you took the helicopter without waking her. Plus, I've just seen the light from the TV. They're still in there waiting. Probably thinking someone will come or I will come back to the house. I know you can fight them Walter, but let's be honest. There are at least six of them and they might be stupid, but they aren't babies. They know what they're doing."

Walter had stopped at the door, "Well what are you suggesting I do? I can't leave you there until morning. They could have back up waiting for the daylight hours."

"Send me Alucard," she said it sternly. A demand more than a request.

"Isabael," Walter opened the bedroom door to walk out, but was stopped.

"He is there is he not?" she sounded smug now.

"Yes, he is. I would have liked to talk to you more about this situation, but I can see I will not get the chance now. Perhaps later when things have settled down," Walter looked worried and apprehensive.

"Thank you Walter. I promise things will be okay. We knew that one day this time would come," Isabael smiled to herself.

"I will get a bedroom ready for you. You will be down the hall from the new girl I wrote you about," he sighed and walked back to the telephone dock.

"Again Walter, thank you. You've been such a great support all these years. It must be a relief to not have to keep the secret any longer," she sat back against the wall of the cellar and relaxed.

"I suppose so. I will see you soon. Be carful until he gets there," he set the phone gently down and turned around, "Did you know this was coming?"

"I had a feeling," he smiled broadly.

"You could have prevented it then," Walter frowned.

"Some things are not meant to be prevented my old friend. Integra will be awake in a few hours. Would you like me to wait to bring her back until you've have sufficient time to explain things?" he adjusted his hat and opened up a dark portal in the middle of the hall.

"No, bring her back as soon as you can so she can get some sleep. She will probably be tired and a tired Isabael and a furious Sir Integra is more than I can handle," he opened his bedside drawer and pulled out a ring with many keys on it.

"Giving her the room they created her in? How very twisted of you Walter," Alucard laughed.

"Oh, it's the only one that's fully furnished and fit for a young woman," Walter sighed and walked past Alucard towards the elevator.

"I will see you soon old man," Alucard turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

"And getting older every minute," Walter frowned and stepped into the elevator. Integra Hellsing had advanced him to old age fast enough, but Isabael Hellsing was going to send him to an early grave.

_Earlier_

"Isabael, why don't you go to bed sweet heart it's almost one in the morning," Leslie walked over to the couch where her daughter was lying and patted her on the head.

"I am nineteen, mother, I can decide when to go to bed for myself, thanks," she sat up away from her mother's petting hand and changed the channel on the TV a few times.

"I'm just looking out for my only daughter. We only have each other you know," she smiled at her only child and sat down next to her.

"Yeah, I know," the girl had a velvety voice, but it was a hard voice as well.

"There's a storm coming," Leslie stared out the window.

"Yeah, I heard thunder a while ago," the girl turned and looked out the window as well.

"Let's go to bed, okay?" she looked back over to her child and smiled.

"Yeah, alright, it is pretty late," the girl continued to stare out the window as she turned the TV off and stood up.

They both headed up the stairs and down the hallway to two doors opposite each other.

"Lock your door," the mother opened the door for her daughter and guided her inside with a gentle hand.

"I can help you, you know. It doesn't have to be like this," the girl looked at her mother seriously.

"It was always meant to be like this. He will be here for you soon. Lock the door and use the ladder as soon as you hear them inside," Leslie offered the girl one last smile and lightly touched her arm before se closed the door.

Isabael locked the door behind her mother and stood to face the window. The curtains were still closed so they could not see her hiding. She quickly went to her dresser and pulled out her emergency pack and her holster. They had been sitting in the drawer unused for quite some time and she was beginning to think she was never going to get the chance to take them out. She crept over to the window and peeked out the curtains. It was pitch black outside and all she could see was the small light from the root cellar. That was her destination.

She listened to the seconds tick by on the clock and each one seemed to drag on for minutes. Everything was completely silent and then she heard the front door. At first it was just the wiggling of the door knob, but then it escalated into a banging which quickly turned into a loud crash as the door swung opened.

She jumped into action immediately. She pulled opened the curtains and threw the window opened in one fast movement. She glanced at the rope ladder her mother had bought for her in emergencies such as these before she climbed out onto the roof and carefully shut the curtains and window behind her. She let her self roll to the edge of the roof and then grabbed the edge right as she rolled off. She dangled for a moment to get her balance and then swung herself outwards so she would not land in the bushes. She landed on the ground lightly and took off for the root cellar.

She glanced back before she got into the cellar to be sure no one was following her. When she opened the glass door the warm muggy air came rushing out. It smelled like dirt and plant matter. She wrinkled her nose at it and then climbed inside and shut the door tightly. It was very dim in the cellar, but she quickly found the satellite phone sitting loyally on its charger. She picked it up and dialed one of the only numbers she knew by heart.

Isabael sighed as the phone rang a few times. She supposed it was to be expected since it was now past one in the morning. She heard the phone pick up and then a clatter as it was knocked to the floor.

"Hello? Helloooo? Walter? Can you hear me?" she did not bother to whisper. They would not be coming out to the root cellar to look for her. After they killed Leslie they would stay inside and await further instructions.


	2. Marco

Marco

Alucard entered the house from the kitchen wall. He stepped into the living room where there were three men watching television. They were fledgling vampires and they were laughing loudly at the human show. Alucard cleared his throat and they all turned around.

"Ah, there you are. We thought you'd be here a little later. That girl is still waiting in the root cellar. She could have waited in here you know, it's not like we'd do anything to her. We wanna get paid, right?" they all laughed nervously.

"You won't be getting paid today boys," Alucard took out his Jackal and shot the three young vampires between the eyes before they could have a second thought.

"Such a shame to waste three such obedient vampires," he holstered his gun and headed out towards the root cellar.

"Isabael was watching through the little window that was in the cellar door. She saw him come out the backdoor and she grabbed her bags. She was sick of the musty cellar and she was beginning to regret not dressing warmer. She figured it would be better in the long run though. It would not do to show up and have Walter see her dressed warmly. She had after all barley escaped with her life.

She settled her backpack securely on her back and then began to climb up the cellar ladder. She pushed the cellar door opened with one arm and reached her other arm out expectantly. It was swiftly taken a hold of and she was pulled out of the cellar in one quick movement.

"What kept you?" she looked up at the familiar pale face.

"I assure you I arrived as soon as I could. Any sooner and Walter would suspect that I already knew what was happening," he smirked down at the small heart shaped face and winked.

"Did he have any suspicions when you left?" Isabael started to walk to the front of the house without waiting for an answer.

"He did have some, but he won't alert Integra of them. He loves you very much and he wants things to work out," Alucard trailed behind her, "why are you carrying that empty backpack?"

"Because I'm going to put something in it eventually of course. How is the girl? Is she still alive?" Isabael started to shake the bushes they were passing.

"She is," Alucard frowned.

"That's good. She can be of some help. I don't know why you didn't see that before. I mean what you did was really just a loss of control. It's really quit odd for you I think. You mustn't let things like that ruin everything. It's going to be hard enough with that woman with her smug attitude and…ugh where is he at," Isabael kicked at a bush and sighed.

"If you just stick to what you've planned things will be fine. They will all be in love with you and no one will listen to any accusations she may throw at you and believe me she will throw many. She's as smart as you and she's lived longer and seen more. What are you searching for?" Alucard took hold of the sleeve of her shirt and pulled her backwards.

"For Marco," Isabael sighed and started to whistle and snap her fingers.

"You can't possibly be thinking of taking that cat with you. Just leave him here I need to get you back to Hellsing. It's thirteen degrees out and you're wearing next to nothing," with that thought he took off his coat and tried to wrap it around her.

She batted him away, "Just a minute more. I'm not going to leave him here he wont have anyone to feed him. Plus, he's a good cat, better than some dogs even. He's never snooty. Marco! Maaaaaaarcoooooo! Here kitty kitty! Common Marco we've got to leave!" she whistled some more and started to clap her hands together loudly.

"You'll wake the neighbors. They already think you're weird," he stepped closer to her again and laid the coat over her.

"Jeeze, that thing is colder than it is outside. Ah, here he comes, common Marco!" she slid the backpack out from under the coat and knelt down on the ground.

There was a small tinkling of a bell and it grew louder as a very large and fat gray and white cat with long silky hair trotted up the driveway. His feet stepped precisely one in front of the other so briskly that they were almost a blur. If it had not been for the bell tied onto his neck with ribbon he would not have made a sound. He stopped once he got to Isabael and looked up to reveal a white nose and chest. He let out a deep meow and then crawled into the backpack she was holding opened without a fuss.

"Integra is going to object to him you know?" he helped her stand up with the weight of the coat and the cat loaded backpack.

"Yes, well she will just have to deal with it," she zipped up the backpack leaving it opened an inch for air and then put her arms through the straps and held it to her chest like a baby carrier.

"Are you ready then?" he wrapped the coat shut around her and picked her up in his arms.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she winked at him mischievously and shut her eyes against the icy trip to her new temporary home.


	3. Introductions

Introductions

Icy winds rushed past Isabael's face and she felt the burning sensation that was so familiar in the pit of her stomach. It began to work its way down her arms and legs towards her toes, but it did not make it very far. The ride was over quickly and she found herself standing in a warm dimly lit room. She looked around and found things to be slightly familiar, but changed.

"Do you recognize this room?" Alucard asked slyly.

"Yes, I think so. You brought me here a few times before a long time ago, but everything was covered with white sheets then. Is this going to be my bedroom?" Isabael pulled the backpack off her stomach and set it down on the floor. It started to meow and she widened the small opening so Marco could crawl out. He slinked out quickly and went straight over to the bed where he made himself comfortable and fell asleep.

"It is. It's also where you were created," Alucard snickered.

"Ha-ha. Like I have any interest in hearing about that. I suppose we should go tell Walter I'm here. I am excited to see him after all and I'm sure he'll be glad to see me," she ran her fingers through her hair quickly to be sure it looked presentable.

"Yes, he's waiting in his room patiently. He has not yet decided how to tell your sister of your arrival," Alucard opened the bedroom door and led her out into the hall.

"Don't refer to her as such. A sister is someone you know and love. I have never met her," Isabael put her nose in the air primly.

Alucard led her down the hall and paused in front of the room next door to hers.

"Is this where she is?" Cat looked up at him.

"Yes, would you like to go in and have a look?" he asked dully and seemed uninterested.

"I would," she pushed the door opened quietly and began to walk in, "aren't you coming?" she turned around and waited for Alucard to follow.

"No, I have been forbidden to go inside until she wishes for me to," Alucard crossed his arms and frowned.

"Well, Vampire, I give you permission to enter this room upon your own will," Isabael spoke sternly.

Alucard paused and thought for a moment. He stepped forward and slowly slid his foot across the threshold of the room. He waited for his flesh to begin burning, but no such sensation came. He stepped fully into the room and felt no barrier to hinder him.

"It worked," he spoke calmly, but Isabael could sense the slightest bit of excitement in his voice.

"Indeed it did. So, are you coming?" she stood waiting for him.

"I'll wait here," he stepped back out of the room and leaned against the wall.

"Suit yourself," Isabael shrugged and made her way over to the bed. She peered down at the girl laying there. She had brownish hair that was spread out across the pillow in loose waves and some curls. Her skin was fairly pale and Isabael could not be sure if this was the way it always was or if she was simply still pale from sickness. One of her legs and arms was in a cast and her chest was also wrapped with bandages. Her head was loosely bound as well and she was hooked up to an IV. Isabael listened to the slow beeping of the heart rate monitor which she assumed was only hooked up for the benefit of others. Or possibly to be sure that her heart remained beating since the reason she was in traction in the first place was due to the over zealous vampire waiting in the hall.

Isabael chuckled out loud and the girl's eyes moved beneath her eyelids.

"Are you awake?" Isabael leaned in and whispered.

Cat stirred some more and her eyes fluttered opened just a crack.

Isabael leaned closer so that Cat could see her better.

"It's…you," Cat spoke weakly.

"Me? Who would I be then?" Isabael narrowed her eyes.

"I…haven't…been to the library," Cat cringed.

Isabael thought it probably hurt her to speak, but she was curious to know who Cat thought she was, "What do you mean? Who doesn't want you in the library?"

Cat paused and opened her eyes slightly more. The girl she was looking at had coal black hair that was slightly passed her shoulders and had no hint of any curling or waves and she had bangs cut straight across her forehead that laid just even with her eyebrows. Was this not the same girl she had seen before? The one who told her to stay out of the library, "No…no they're different…your eyes are…different," it was not the same girl. Cat could not keep awake any longer. With the relief that the strange girl in white had not returned she fell back asleep.

"My eyes?" Isabael turned around and started to head back for the hall, "And what does she mean she hasn't been back to the library?" she looked at Alucard suspiciously?

"Just the ramblings of someone in between life and death," he took Isabael by the shoulder and continued leading her down the hall.

"She is no where in the middle. I suspect she'll make a full recovery quite soon," Isabael thought about what the girl had said, "She mistook me for someone, did you hear her? Someone who had apparently told her to stay away from the library. Do you know anything about that?" she looked up at him suspiciously.

"Not the slightest idea," he continued looking blankly down the hall.

"Oh, bull! You came to her as that creepy frauline didn't you! Who else looks similar to me and she mentioned my eyes! Your eyes are red and mine are blue and to someone half asleep that would be the only noticeable difference. Was she really looking that hard for it?"

"I don't know what she was looking for. I couldn't see what she was thinking, but what else could it have been? She would start at one row of books and pull every single one for hours at a time. She was looking for books on vampire souls as well. That I know for sure because she was not trying to hide it. But, whatever she was looking for after that she did not want anyone to know about, especially me. I couldn't risk it so I scared her away," he turned down another hallway and tugged Isabael along.

"You should have just let her keep searching. It would have meant less work for me. So what if she found it. She wouldn't have known what to do with it anyway," Isabael looked up just in time to see someone walk around the corner from another hall, "Walter!" she yelled loudly and abandoned all thoughts of anything else. She broke away from Alucard and took off running down the hall like she was a small child again.

As if the God of Chaos has been waiting in the hall a door to the left opened up just before Isabael got to it. Integra stepped out into the hall, "Walter what is all this commotion?" she glanced towards Walter and then her attention immediately turned to the girl running towards him. To any normal person the girl would have seemed harmless. Just a child running towards someone, but to Integra something dangerous loomed over the girl and she reached for her gun instinctively.

"Walter look out!" Integra drew the gun and fired a shot towards the girl just as she ran past.

Isabael had seen the look on Integra's face right away, but had made the decision to continue running towards Walter. She watched as Integra raised the gun to her and pulled the trigger.

By this time Walter had jumped into action and was running towards Isabael as well, "Sir Integra stop!"

Alucard grinned widely.

The shot rang out.

Isabael ducked expertly and raised her hand towards the bullet. There was a great flash of blueish light and Isabael did not miss a beat. She took the last five strides towards Walter and let herself fall into his out stretched arms. She buried her face in his chest quickly, "Oh Walter, it has been too long," she turned her head very slightly to look at the woman who had just tried to shoot her. The look on her face was priceless.

"Isabael are you alright! Have you been hit? Walter pulled her away from him and began examining her and searching for a bullet wound.

"I'm fine," Isabael smirked slightly, "she missed."

"Walter what is going on here! Who is this girl!" Integra stepped the rest of the way out of her office and shut the door.

"Sir Integra I think it best if we go back into your office and talk about this. It is too serious to be spoken about out in a hallway," Walter hugged Isabael as he spoke and she smiled wryly.

"What is the meaning of this Walter?" Integra demanded.

"Sir, please just go into your office and I will be there shortly to explain everything," he continued to hug Isabael and rested his hand lovingly on the top of her head.

"Walter…," Integra starred confused.

"What's going on? I heard gunshots!" Alex came running around the corner in his pajamas with a gun in one hand and a fist full of bullets in the other. He glanced from Integra to Isabael to Walter and then back to Integra, "Who is that?"

"That is Integra's sister," Alucard smiled mischievously.

"I didn't know you had a sister," a few of the bullets fell from his hand and clanged onto the floor.

Integra looked at Alucard bewildered and furious at the same time. She turned her attentions back to Walter and Isabael, "Walter, I demand to know what the meaning of this is immediately."

Walter sighed and finally let go of Isabael, "It is a difficult story. I suggest we all go and sit down. I'll make a pot of tea."


	4. Sister

**Sorry it took so long. Please enjoy and review!**

Sister

Integra stared blankly at Walter, "You'll make some tea?"

"Please, Sir Integra remain calm and we will sort all of this out," he turned desperately to Alex and gave him a pleading look.

"Oh, right," Alex quickly tucked away the gun and shoved the bullets into his pajama pocket, "Come sit down in the office Integra and we will wait for Walter to explain things. There's no sense in getting stressed out before you know what is going on."

"But, Alex this girl just came out of no where…and then to say she's my sister!" she glanced menacingly at Alucard.

"It will all be explain as soon as Walter makes tea," he took her gently by the elbow and began to lead her back into the office.

"Well, I don't want any tea I want an explanation!" she tried to squirm back into the hall, but Alex kept a tight grip and shut the door behind them.

"That didn't work out the way I had planned it," Walter sighed and looked at Alucard.

"It was quick and painless, like pulling off a Band-Aid," Alucard smiled grimly.

"Being shot at is nothing like pulling off a Band-Aid. You're an Idiot," Isabael glared at the chuckling vampire.

"Well I suppose I should go make that tea. Isabael you can go wait in there with them until I get back," Walter guided her towards the door and reached for the handle.

"Are you serious Walter? She just shot at me and now you want me to go in there and sit with her? If that's not the most awkward thing in the world I don't know what is," she pushed back against Walter's guiding hand and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Alucard will go in with you. It will be fine. Alex is a very nice man he will see to it that Integra is not too mean to you," Walter smiled and pulled the door open a crack.

"I'm not worried about _mean_ I'm worried about _crazy_," she grabbed Alucard's sleeve and dragged him in behind her making sure to let go before Integra noticed.

Integra's eyes narrowed as Isabael walked into her office without knocking.

"Um, Walter told me to come and wait for him in here," Isabael shrugged and walked slowly to one of the chairs in front of Integra's desk.

"And who exactly are you?" Integra snapped.

"I'm Isabael," she offered her light smile that no one could ever tell was fake.

"Yes, and who exactly is Isabael?" Integra glared at her harder.

"Maybe we should just wait for Walter to explain. It will probably be more understandable that way," she nodded and smiled and pretended to be interested in her cuticles.

"If you don't tell me right now what's going on so help me!" Integra stood up abruptly and slammed her fists on her desk.

"You'll what? Shoot at me again? Why don't you listen to your pet vampire? Ask him what you want to know," Isabael kept her focus on her cuticles, but smiled wickedly.

"Alucard," Integra turned her attention towards the hysterical vampire, "Who is this girl?"

"But, I've already told you my master. She's you're sister," he laughed darkly.

"I have no sister," Integra glared at the dark haired girl.

"Oh, but you do Sir Integra. Here she sits in front of you. You do both look quite different I must admit. Isabael looks more like her mother, but you both have your father's eyes," Alucard's toothy grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Out of my sight you disgusting monster!" Integra drew her gun and fired a shot at Alucard who quickly disappeared.

"You shouldn't treat your pets like that. They'll turn against you don't you know?" Isabael raised her eyebrows up briskly and offered Alex a playful wink. He chuckled until he saw the grim look Integra was giving him.

"Where is Walter with that stupid tea!" she grabbed the telephone and had begun to dial when Walter walked in.

"That won't be necessary Sir, I'm right here," he pushed a small tea cart with a tea kettle and four cups.

"Explain Walter! Now!" she clenched her fists hysterically.

Alex gulped. He had never seen her so infuriated before and that was really saying something.

"There is no easy way to say this Sir Integra but, Isabael is indeed your sister. She was born by requests of the Queen and her council in case anything should ever happen to you. You both have a different mother but, the same father. It was to ensure that Alucard would always be captive. If you were ever killed or failed to bare children then Isabael would be like a back up plan. Alucard would still be bound by the Hellsing bloodline through her. You mustn't let it upset you Sir it was all for the safety of England. Certainly you can understand that," Walter poured a cup of tea and set it in front of her.

Integra sank down in her chair and stared at the tea cup, "So my father cheated on my mother."

"Oh, Sir Integra you must not think of it like that. It was only to ensure the safety of England. Lesley was carefully chosen to be sure she would be trustworthy and have strong genes. It isn't as though your father had anything to do with the selection. He didn't even meet her before hand," Walter sighed and rested his head in his hand.

"I only ever met him once when I was about five if that makes you feel better and I didn't even know it was my father until a few years later. He came and asked me about my health and if I was happy. I thought he was some sort of doctor. I don't think he had any paternal feeling towards me," Isabael shrugged and sipped some tea. She could care less who her father was or that a country had paid her mother to conceive her with a man she had only just met. She was only in it for the bloodline.

"Yes, thank you so much. That is such a comfort to know," Integra looked up at her ruthlessly.

"Well, then since you're feeling all better I'd like to go to bed now," she set down the tea cup and stood up.

"Now wait! You still haven't told me what she's doing here. Nothing has happened to me and I've married now so what doubt is there that I will not bare a child?" Integra looked at Walter.

Alex blushed.

Isabael cut in, "Because my mother was killed by vampires tonight and despite the fact that you think you'll be carrying on the bloodline it's still important that nothing happens to me."

"You're old enough to get a job and your own flat," Integra smirked.

"I'm no more suited for a regular job as you are sister. My line of work is the same as yours only I get my hands dirty while you sit at that desk," she flipped her hair casually.

"Don't call me that. You are no more my sister than that bloody vampire is. Leave my office I don't wish to speak to you anymore," Integra turned around and faced the windows.

"Very well," Isabael spun around and her heel and pranced lightly out of the room, "Good night Walter I'll see you tomorrow," she pulled the door opened and briskly shut it behind her.

Alucard stood in the hall waiting.

"I think things went rather well don't you?" she looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh, yes they went charmingly well. You are so skilled at deception. I wonder where you got it from," he offered her his arm and led her down the hall back to her room.

"It is a learned skill. I wonder if she will warm up to me at all?" she clung closer to the icy arm.

"I wouldn't count on it. She's already too suspicious of you and to get someone to warm up to you you cant have a malicious agenda for them," he chuckled softly.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," she looked up at him and smirked.

"Here we are," he stopped in front of a door and opened it for her, "do you need tucking in?"

"No, I think I can manage for myself vampire," she curtsied to him and he bowed back in return.

"Goodnight then Miss Hellsing," he tipped his hat and began to fade away like a Cheshire cat.

"Goodnight vampire," she smiled ad what was left of him and then entered her room. She flipped the lights out and started to undress while her eyes adjusted. She pulled a baggy shirt out of her bag and slipped it over her head. Marco was still snoozing on the bed and she pulled out his water bowl and filled it in the bathroom just in case he woke up and was thirsty. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and then climbed into the soft bed. Things were going well so far and she said a quick prayer to whatever God there was that things would continue to go smoothly. The shorter it took for her to find the diary the better. The longer she stayed here the more suspicions would begin to rise. She could use Katherine for help. From what Alucard told her she was somewhat attached to him. It might be easy to just tell her the plan.

Isabael rolled over and snuggled into the soft pillows. Plotting would have to wait until morning. She was dead tired.


	5. Friends

Friends

Isabael awoke the next day around noon. The sun was blazing through the open curtains. She flipped over and stared at the bathroom door. She had been waiting for years to infiltrate this house and now that she was in she could not seem to get out of bed. The atmosphere was too relaxing and she did not feel the need to keep her guard up constantly. This could be a bad habit to get into.

She snuggled her face into the plush pillow a moment longer and rolled out of bed. She stumbled to the bathroom and grabbed a change of clothes on the way. She took a quick shower and got dressed. Her stomach started to rumble so she skipped straightening her hair and headed down stairs. The house was very quiet. Alucard would be asleep in the basement now and Integra was surely in her office. Walter was probably off cleaning somewhere. Integra's husband, Alex, probably had his own business to attend to elsewhere. The soldiers must be in their barracks. Isabael suspected they were to keep out of the house for the most part. The only one left was the girl and she was incapacitated for the moment.

Isabael turned down the hall leading to the kitchen. She made a mental note to thank Alucard for sending her blueprints of the mansion. She entered the kitchen and was slightly surprised to find Walter standing over the stove top.

"Oh, good afternoon Isabael. Did you have a good sleep?" Walter stirred the contents of a pot and then peeked into the oven.

"Yes, I did. I didn't think you'd be in here at noon. Who are you cooking for?" Isabael sat down at one of the bar stools and let her feet hang limply.

"Katherine has finally woken up and she requested a real lunch instead of IV fluids," he switched off the oven and pulled out a baked egg casserole, "you're welcome to dine with her. I can hear your stomach from here."

"Um, sure. That would be great Walter," she rested her head on the cold counter top and sighed.

"Is something bothering you Isabael?" Walter set the egg casserole and some plates on the rolling cart along with some tea and the tomato soup that had been in the pot on the stove.

She smirked, "It's just that I was hoping ever so much that Integra would except me."

"Oh just give her time. She will learn soon enough that what happen in the past cannot be helped and there is no use dwelling on it," he put covers on all of the dishes and pushed the cart towards the door, "come along then Isabael. Katherine will be waiting and I have to get back to the kitchen to fix Integra's afternoon tea." He pushed through the swinging doors and waiting for Isabael to follow.

"So you won't be having brunch with us then? Don't you think that would be a tab bit awkward since we don't know each other?" she held the door opened so Walter could pull the cart through easier and then followed him down the hall.

"Oh, I'm sure you won't have any trouble getting along. You do always find something to talk about with strangers. That's a quality you thankfully got from your mother. Integra unfortunately got the antisocial trait from your father though her mother was a lot like yours. Had they ever been allowed to know each other I think they would have gotten on quite well," he pushed the paneled wall in where the elevator was and it swung opened so they could climb inside.

"Perhaps, but we were banished away to live alone and never have a normal family life. The only time I ever saw my father was when Lady Hellsing died and he came and begged my mother to come and live with him. I think she wanted to go but, she knew that it wouldn't be right and it would defeat the purpose of why I was born. It's a good thing we didn't go too since that uncle of hers went crazy," Isabael stepped off the elevator and headed towards Cat's room.

"He was your uncle too you know," Walter pushed the cart quickly passed Isabael and knocked on Katherine's door.

"Only by blood," Isabael rolled her eyes.

"Blood can be a very powerful thing," Walter heard Katherine called to come in and pushed the cart through the door.

Isabael followed after him and tried to no look wicked. She was excited to pick at Katherine's brain to find out how Alucard had been treating her.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought you some company," Walter smiled at Cat and began uncovering the dishes and serving the brunch.

Cat looked at Isabael for a moment and then back at Walter, "Oh, it's fine I don't mind."

"This is Integra's sister Isabael," Walter stepped back so Isabael could greet Katherine.

"Oh, I didn't know she had a sister," Cat now looked more confused than ever.

"Neither did she," Walter smiled at her encouragingly, "well I will leave you ladies to your brunch. I must go fetch Integra's tea before she gets too cranky," he began to walk out of the room, but first paused beside Isabael and whispered quietly, "please restrain yourself from delving in too deep about her accident. I know how you can be sometimes."

"Oh, of course Walter. I'll be on my best behavior," she gave him a wink and a very sarcastic curtsy before he left the room. Isabael stood and stared at the damaged girl who was avoiding any eye contact. Finally she got tired of the shyness charade and walked over to the try Walter had made up for Katherine. She picked it up and set it on the girls lap before she made herself a bowl of the egg casserole and a cup of tea. She climbed carefully onto the bed and sat cross-legged on the very end. She put a large spoonful into her mouth and began to chew.

Cat stared at her uncomfortably.

"Aren't you going to eat?" her words muffled through the eggs.

Cat started eating without saying anything and the two girls made their way through most of the casserole, all of the tomato soup, and half a pot of tea.

When they were finished Isabael sighed and propped herself up sideways on the bed, "So Alucard let you fall off of a building is that right? And he didn't even try to catch you."


	6. Death or Death

review please

Death or Death

Cat stared at Isabael blankly with her mouth ajar.

"That what happened right? He planned for you to fall is how I understood it. I mean he didn't really say that but who is he kidding? We all know he did it on purpose," Isabael brushed her hair back from her face and smiled.

"I really don't want to talk about it. I don't really remember what happened," Cat scowled a little.

"Of course you do! You know that's a lie. Lying is a sin," Isabael winked.

Cat changed the subject, "So you are Integra's younger sister? Did you only just find that out?"

"No, I have always known, but Integra only just found out and needless to say she did not take it very well," she snickered lightly.

"So, why have you never come to visit before?" Cat pushed the covered back and sat up more.

"Well, I never had any reason to. I was meant to be kept a secret and if anything ever happened to Integra I would step in to take control of Alucard. Now that she is married and will soon bare children I am probably not really needed anymore, but my mother was killed and I haven't anywhere else to go. So here I am," she smiled wryly.

"But you talk as if you've know Alucard for a long time," Cat crossed her arms as if this made her look more intimidating though she did not think this Isabael character could be intimidated by many people.

"You're beginning to pry," Isabael pinched her lips together curtly.

"Yes, well you've already pried haven't you! Asking me about how I fell…don't you think that's insensitive?" Cat sat up further.

"Only if you're in love with him. In that case what I said would probably have touched a nerve. But, that's ridiculous, to be in love with a vampire. Particularly with one who tried to kill you," Isabael slid off the bed and walked over to the window to gaze out at the courtyard.

"I..but, you!..I mean..he..it isn't like that..I just…," Cat stumbled out of the bed angrily.

Isabael turned back towards Cat, "We don't have to keep up this silly charade anymore. I know about everything that is going on between you and Alucard. You're part of the plan you see? I hope you can keep all of this a secret because it would be a shame if I had to kill you. He is fond of you in an odd sort of way. He believes you to be his sister reincarnated. I suppose it could be possible, but it's no matter to me. I'm here for business."

Cat stared helplessly, "For..business?"

At that moment the door opened abruptly and Integra stepped in, "Walter told me you were awake. How are you feeling?"

Cat turned around to look at her still looking a bit dazed, "Oh, I feel okay I guess. A little sore."

"You probably should be resting still. You've been through a lot," Integra stood with her hand on the door knob.

"That's just what I was telling her," Isabael smiled sweetly, "In fact I think it might also do her some good to get out of this room. Is there a wheel chair she could use?"

Integra shot Isabael a fiery look and then spoke to Cat, "I'll have Walter bring one up if you would like to get out for some fresh air."

Cat nodded. She was still incredibly confused. She felt like she had slept through and very important part of a movie and now it would be impossible to figure out what was going on until almost the very end.

Integra nodded back and stepped out of the room shutting the door behind her.

"What was all that?" Cat looked back at Isabael who was smirking widely.

"She's not very fond of me, but no matter. She won't be around much longer."

"What do you mean!" Cat gasped.

"Don't be so naive. You love Alucard correct? And you know that he is a prisoner of that woman. What do you think he would want most of all? To be free obviously. And wouldn't you want to give the one you love anything they want?" Isabael smiled encouragingly.

"Well I..I suppose so," Cat narrowed her eyes. She felt like she was being tricked into agreeing.

"Well the only way for him to be free is to kill Integra Hellsing," Isabael's smile stretched from ear to ear and Cat found it to be eerily similar to Alucard's.

A knock came at the door and Walter came in pushing an out dated wheel chair, "This was all I could find. You'll need to treat it delicately Isabael, no running or being rough alright?"

"Of course Walter! You know I'm always carful," she danced across the room and hugged his arm.

"Right, well be gentle with Katherine as well. She still needs to rest," Walter rolled his eyes at her exuberance.

"Don't worry Walter we'll probably just go to the library. I hear it's Miss Cat's favorite place to be," she looked over at Cat and winked.

"Yes, well if you need anything come and find me," Walter bowed and left the room.

"Hop in!" Isabael jumped behind the wheel chair and shoved it behind Cat. She fell into the seat with a gasp. Isabael did not wait for her to get situated and rushed out the door and down the hall. She went directly to the elevator and used her foot to knock the wall panel opened.

"How did you know about the elevator? Have you been here before?" Cat looked back at her curiously.

"Lucky guess," Isabael said without looking at her.

The elevator arrived shortly and Isabael shoved the wheel chair inside and hit the ground floor button.

"The library is one floor up from us," Cat told her thinking she just had been mistaken.

"We aren't going to the library. I only told Walter that so he wouldn't get angry with me," she giggled under her breath.

"Then where are we going? I'm not really dressed to go outside," Cat looked down at the frilly nightgown she was wearing. Who had put her in something like that anyway?

"It's a surprise. You'll love it," Isabael giggled again.

Cat sighed and waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. As soon as it did Isabael shoved it violently out the door and ran towards the kitchen. She skidded to a halt in front of the door and left Cat sitting in the chair while she ran inside. She came out about a minute later with something in her hand.

"What's that?" Cat tried to see it, but Isabael had already turned the chair around and was raising towards the back of the house.

"It's O positive," she turned sharply around a corner and came to an abrupt stop in front of a set of thick double doors.

"Oh, no. I'm not going down there. I mean it's the middle of the day and I don't want to go down there Isabael really I mean..why would I want to?" Cat stuttered and pushed the chair back from the door with her feet.

"Oh, come on! Who cares if it's the middle of the day he can stay awake for weeks without feeling the effects of sleep deprivation you must know that. He's only lazy because he has nothing better to do. It will be fun! Don't you want to see him? It's been awhile hasn't it? Unless you've been seeing him in your dreams," Isabael grinned.

Cat blushed, "I just don't think it would be best. he probably doesn't want to see me."

"Cat. Katherine. Let me tell you something about myself. I was raised to know how to kill vampires and humans alike. I was taught to be quick and judgmental and to always be correct in my judgments. I was taught to never turn my back to anything except a wall and to always keep my guard up because the only person you can ever really trust is yourself. And by Alucard I was taught to only have a place in my heart for him. Whether you will accept it or not the only reason Alucard pushed you off that building was to turn you because he wants you. Unfortunately it didn't work out like that so it will have to happen at a later date, but if you get in the way of my mission I won't hesitate to take you out of the picture entirely and Alucard will not save you from that. As of now I'm the boss. I have the power to control him and until we are rid of Integra I will. Until the day comes when he changes me whatever I say goes. Got that?" she raised her eyebrows expecting a quick answer.

Cat stared at her bewildered.

"You're going to have to stop with that baffled staring thing if you're going to be in on this. Its kill or be killed Cat," Isabael pulled one of the double doors opened and a soft breeze blew out ruffling both their hair. "So are you coming down or not? I promise he'll be happy to see you awake."

Cat stared down into the dark and sighed, "Well I suppose if it's life or death I'll go down there. Though it's really just death or death if you think about it."

Isabael laughed heartily, "This is true! But it's death or the true death and I can never understand why some people think being undead is worse than being dead dead. I mean who wouldn't want to be all powerful and have all the time in the world?"

Cat shrugged, "I really don't know," she followed Isabael down into the basement and thought to herself, "but I suppose I'm going to have to find out."


	7. Isabael

Isabael

The basement was pitch black and Cat closed her eyes and used her memories of the stairs to guide herself down, "6, 7, 8, 9…," she whispered under her breath.

"What are you mumbling?" Isabael's clear voice cut through the dark.

"I was just counting the stairs," Cat was glad for the dark because she had started to blush.

"Counting aye? Interesting. I'll switch on the light if you want to just wait."

"There's a light?" Cat continued counting determined to get to the bottom on her own.

"Yes, there's a lamp. Haven't you been down here before?" Isabael's feet met with the basement floor and she skipped over to where the old dusty lamp was standing a few feet away from Alucard's coffin.

"I have a few times, but I always brought a flashlight or Alucard made some sort of glowing orb," Cat stumbled slightly at the bottom of the stairs, but kept her balance.

Isabael flicked on the lamp and it lit a large area, but Cat still could not see to the back of the basement.

Isabael noticed her looking, "Nothing can light back that far. That's where the darkness lives," she smiled eerily and Cat could not tell if she was joking or serious.

"Well, come on over! Don't you want to see him?" Isabael peered into the coffin lovingly, "He looks so much nicer in his sleep. Just like the angel Lucifer."

Cat raised an eyebrow, but went over to the coffin to peer inside as well. Isabael was right. Alucard did not look dangerous at all while he was sleeping. His face was relaxed and there was no hint of ill will dancing around his smirk. He looked like a normal person if you ignored the coffin he was in, the giant boots he was wearing even while sleeping, and the two massive hand guns at his sides.

"You should wake him. He'll be happy to see you," Isabael nudged Cat closer to the coffin and handed her the blood pack.

"What! I'm not waking him up! You do it you're the one who's here on "business" remember," Cat spoke in a mocking tone.

"It's your business too now that you know all about it. Don't forget I'll kill you if I have to," Isabael sighed in slight frustration and reached into the coffin to prod Alucard with her index finger.

"You're going to wake him up by poking him?" Cat wondered where this girl had come from and what had made her so brazen.

"Just open the blood pack," Isabael rolled her eyes, "You know he's already awake right? I mean he can hear everything we're saying he's just choosing to not move. It's his little trick or at least he thinks it's a trick. He's probably used it on you before to see if you would make any confessions. People seem to think it's safe to talk to people while they're sleeping."

At this Alucard phased through the bottom of the coffin and the basement floor.

"Where did he go," Cat froze like someone does when they have lost track of a particularly menacing spider.

"He's behind you," Isabael said matter-of-factly.

Cat let out a squeal and dropped the blood pack she had been clutching. Alucard caught it easily and bit into the corner. He drank it slowly and watched as Cat crept away slowly and positioned herself behind Isabael.

He finished the blood bag and sighed deeply, "You weren't afraid of me before. What's changed?"

Isabael chuckled and walked over to him, "You tried to kill her remember. I think she will probably be afraid of you until you kill her again," she wrapped her thin arms around his waist and pressed her face into his middle. She breathed his scent in. She had always thought he smelled like rain and fresh earth.

Alucard smiled faintly and rested his hand on the top of her head, "You needn't be so brassy about it. Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"No. Everything I learned came from a vampire king," she looked up at him admiringly and took his hand.

"I don't understand why I'm here. You two probably want to be alone," Cat felt as though she was scowling.

"You don't have to be if you don't want to," Isabael scowled back at her.

"Now now girls I'll have no fighting between you," Alucard grinned his familiar grin and Cat felt her face soften. She could not stay angry at him even though he had tried to kill her. There was just something inside of her that kept her devoted to him no matter what.

"You looked up the vampire souls in the library, right?" Isabael spoke.

Cat jumped slightly, "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"Well, what did you read about them?" Isabael waved her hand in a circle to signal Cat to go on.

"Um, that a vampire soul never dies? The vampire can be killed and it's body destroyed, but just as a human soul goes to heaven or hell the vampire soul roams the earth until it finds a new vessel that is suitable and has the potential to be turned into a vampire. The person that the vampire soul inhabits has only the vampire soul and not their own original human. If they choose to not become a vampire and live a respectable life the soul will become their own and it will go to heaven when they die. If you believe in heaven and things like that," Cat shrugged.

"She's forgotten most of what happened that night. Just make it easier and explain it to her," Alucard stepped towards Cat and she took a step away.

"This is so much of a hassle. Are you sure Vivianna is in there? This girl seems too oblivious," Isabael moved over to Alucard's coffin and perched on its edge.

"Wait, you mean Vivianna, your sister?" Cat narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Do you know many other Viviannas that Alucard consorts with?" Isabael rolled her eyes.

"What is your problem! You act like I should know all about this! Why would I know anything about any of this!" Cat was becoming frustrated. She felt like she was being ganged up on.

"Now now Isabael. Do try and be nice. As nice as you are to Walter and I perhaps?" he grinned wickedly.

"I'm only nice to men, you know that. Women I have no patients for. They are never direct about anything. Everything has to be a game," she tossed her hair playfully.

"Oh, but you love to play games. How can you deny it?" he turned his attentions toward Isabael now.

Cat felt like she had basically been forgotten about. She was just an accessory to whatever malicious plan they had in mind. Sure, they had suggested that she was Vivianna, but why would either of them care about that. Cat watched in disgust and some embarrassment as Alucard moved towards Isabael and ran his fingers across her cheek. She turned her back quickly when he turned Isabael's head to the side and proceeded to lick her neck.

"Well if you're done harassing me now I think I'll go," Cat spoke rather loudly.

"Do you understand what part you play in all of this?" Isabael ducked under Alucard's arm and slid off the coffin.

"Sure, I'm in possession of Vivianna's soul and I have no choice, but to become a vampire," Cat scowled as meanly as she could at Isabael.

"Well sure you have a choice. I'm only going to kill you if you ruin our plans. If you choose not to become a vampire that up to you. Though I can't promise that I'll be able to stop Alucard from forcing you once he's free," she shrugged like none of what was happening concerned her very much.

"Well, what a relief," Cat rolled her eyes and began to hobble back to the stairs.

"If you should meet Integra in the hall on your way back what will you tell her?" Isabael called after her.

"You went for a walk and I was tired so I decided to just go back to my room on my own," Cat slowly made her way up the staircase and prayed that she would not see anyone on her way back.

"Very good," Isabael said to quiet for Cat to hear, "I think that she might be useful. She is rather attached to you I can see. She might not trust me, but for some reason she seems to trust you. Even though you tried to kill her. Isn't that funny?" she turned around and smiled at Alucard who had crawled back into his coffin and was sitting with his back propped up against some pillows.

"Yes, very funny," he was looking off into the blackness of the basement.

Isabael walked over to the coffin and leaned on the side, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing that you need to worry about Mina my dear," he continued starring absently at the darkness.

Isabael raised her had to slap him, but he caught her arm quickly, "I told you never to call me that. Whether I am her reincarnation or not that does not make me her. I'm my own person," she scowled at him and felt the prickle of tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I know. I am sorry," he pulled her into the coffin despite her resistance and wrapped himself around her, "stay down here today and sleep. It will be safer."

"I'm perfectly safe up there with Walter around. Despite what Integra may think when it comes right down to it Walter will protect me. They all will in time," she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Yes, but stay down here and sleep today," he curled black smoke like tentacles around her torso and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"If you wish, Vampire," she sighed deeply and took in the scent of rain and fresh dirt.

"I do Isabael, my love."


	8. To the Vatican

To the Vatican

Isabael awoke around three in the afternoon in complete darkness. For a moment she just laid still, paralyzed by confusion about where she was. The darkness pressed down on her eyes and a dampness swirled around her face. After a moment she relaxed, remembering that she had slept the day away in the basement. She shifted her weight and found that she was still propped against Alucard.

"Are you awake?" there was no answer, but this did not mean anything.

She sat up and slid slowly backwards out of the coffin trying to find the floor. It took her nearly hanging from her fingertips before she felt her feet touch the ground.

"The deeper he sleeps, the higher he floats," she chuckled to herself. Once she was safely on the ground she let her mind's eye lead her back to the staircase and up the pitch black stairs. She wondered if anyone was looking for her. Really, the only person on her mind was Integra. She did not want her finding out about her and Alucard.

She opened the basement door slowly and peeked out to be sure no one was around. Once she saw the coast was clear she slid out the door and closed it quickly. She stood outside the door a moment and sighed. It had been a long two days and she felt like everything was hitting her all at once. She had no family left, unless you counted Integra, which she didn't. Her mother's death had been planned. Not exactly by her, but she had not done anything to stop it. She kept telling herself that it was in everyone's best interest. She wanted to be a vampire and live forever. She wanted Alucard to love her for what she was and not for what she would become. She wanted him to be free and happy or at least as happy as someone like him could get. She didn't quit hate Katherine, but she was not all that thrilled about her either. She needed a distraction.

"I need to visit the Vatican," she smiled wickedly and began to skip down the hall.

She went back to her room and changed into something that could be considered formal, but was not quite fit for visiting the Vatican and seeing priests in. It was a form fitting black dress that had a much too low V-cut in the front and an even lower V-cut in the back. She put on a pair of black stilettos and for fashions sake a small bill box hat with a micro-veil. The only formal part of the outfit was the color.

She picked up the phone and dialed for Walter, "Walter? I need a car to the Vatican. I can't tell you. No, I really can't tell you, Walter, it's top secret. I don't care if she finds out, but if she does it's only going to be a pain. I'll take a cab I don't care I just need to leave soon. Those old codgers eat dinner early and it's already after three. Thank you, Walter, you're an angel." She hung up the phone and huffed, "Everything must be an argument."

Before setting off out the door she strapped a small Ruger to her thigh, "You can never be too careful."

She set off down the hall and rounded the corner only to find Integra yelling at a very tired looking Walter.

"What do you mean you've called her a car! Where could she possibly need to go!" Integra screamed.

Isabael walked quietly so no one would notice her.

"She's making a trip to the Vatican, Sir," Walter looked like he needed a vacation and Isabael had barley been in the house for two days.

"And what business could she possibly have in the Vatican!" a vein above Integra's eyebrow pulsed.

"A friend of the family is there. He's a priest," Isabael stepped out of the shadows.

Integra managed to stifle her fright. She had not even heard Isabael approach. "What do you need to see a priest for?" Integra sneered.

"To confess my sins of course," Isabael winked at Walter, "and to tell him about my mother. They spoke quite often in letters and over the phone. Unfortunately living so far out in the country made it hard to visit and I've only had the pleasure of meeting him a few times. He's a lovely priest, really. It's a shame you're a protestant.

"What is the name of this priest?" Integra looked suspiciously at the girl dressed in black. She reminded her of a spider.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't know him, why would you?" Isabael tossed her hair.

"Try me," Integra spoke through gritted teeth.

"His name is Alexander Andersen. He's quite popular in the Vatican," she quickly changed her expression to sweet innocence.

"It that so? Well, you better hurry up then. I hear he works nights," Integra turned around and slammed her office door behind her.

"Well that went well," Isabael walked up to Walter and put her arm around his waist.

He rubbed his temples roughly with his fingers, "Yes, very well indeed."

"You didn't need to tell her about it you know," she turned Walter around and led him down stairs.

"She called and asked who the car was for. She's very suspicious of you. You need to be careful, Isabael," Walter put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her lightly.

"She has nothing to be suspicious about. I'm simply going to church," she grinned widely.

"I know that grin, but not from you. From a certain someone who is constantly causing trouble. Speaking of trouble, you shouldn't be dressing like that to go to church. It isn't proper for a young lady to look like such a floozy," Walter opened the front door and pushed Isabael out playfully.

"Well I never! These are my Sunday bests, Walter!" she put her hands on her hips and acted shocked.

"It's Tuesday," he winked at her and waved at the chauffeur before closing the front door.

"Where to miss?" the man opened the car door for her and waved her inside.

"What's your name driver?" Isabael slid into the car.

"It's Roger. And yours miss?" Roger got into the car and started driving.

"It's Isabael. To the Vatican, Roger, and make it fast. I've got some business with a priest that's better taken care of sooner than later."


	9. At the Vatican

At the Vatican

Katherine heard yelling outside of her room, " And what business could she possibly have in the Vatican!" It was Integra yelling. She heard the soft bell like voice speak up faintly and get louder as its owner moved closer to the door. They were talking about the Vatican. Cat rolled her eyes. What a mess she had gotten herself into. She had gotten much too close to a sadistic vampire, was working for a mad woman, and was now sworn to secrecy by an insane pixie like girl who was probably just as dangerous as Alucard.

She heard someone say Andersen, but she had not been listening to what they were talking about. To be honest she really did not care anymore. Caring is what had gotten her into this dreadful situation in the first place. All the way back to the beginning. She had cared about what was going on down town and if her Aunt was okay. She had stuck her nose where it did not belong and this is where she had ended up. A giant cold mansion full of raging lunatics.

She mashed the soft feather pillow over her head to drowned out the yelling, but it had already stopped and she could hear the footsteps heading downstairs. She laid like that for a while and listened to distant thunder grow closer and closer until it seemed to be directly over the mansion. She lifted her head to find that her room had grown considerably darker despite the curtains being opened. She sighed and reached over to turn on the lamp, but then changed her mind. The darkness felt cool and safe and felt good against her tired eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed for a while staring out the window. Drops of rain started to lightly patter against the glass and she looked at the clock. It was a little after four in the afternoon, Isabael would have reached the Vatican by now and was probably speaking with the insane priest, Alexander Andersen.

Cat could not fathom what business Isabael would have with an insane priest who was hell bent on trying to kill Alucard. Perhaps she had in mind some plan to have him help do away with Integra and then turn against him. Whatever it was, it would probably turn out to be more than anyone bargained for.

It was 4:30 now, time was going by quickly and having nothing important to do, Cat crawled back under the covers and closed her eyes. She had been so pleased with how the past year had gone. Her life was finally what she wanted it to be. She had had a purpose, a job, a family almost. Now she had this dark bedroom and empty IV machine that no one had bothered to come take away. She felt like crying, but no matter how hard she tried she could not squeeze out a single tear. Eventually she drifted into a dark, seemingly dreamless sleep.

At the Vatican…

Isabael watched in anticipation as the huge building loomed into view.

"Quite a sight, en't it Miss Isabael," the driver smiled pleasantly.

"Yes, quite," she leaned closer to the window and breathed a little cloud of fog onto the glass, blocking her view of the church, "how close can you get us without them sending out the cavalry?"

"Surprising close, Miss, the church likes to try and keep things as public as possible. There's a great driveway right out front so tour buses can swoop right through. I'd imagine I can just let you out there. I'm sure you know right where you ought to go after that," he winked in the rear view mirror.

"That I do, Roger," Isabael marked an X through the foggy spot on the window and leaned back in the seat.

Roger pulled the car around in the giant "U" shaped driveway and Isabael got out promptly.

"I'll call you when I'm finished. I'm not sure how long it will take so go off and do as you please," she shut the door without waiting for a response and proceeded up the numerous steps. "Maybe heels weren't such a good idea," she scowled and gritted her teeth.

Once up the steps she entered the church and made a hasty right turn before anyone could notice her. She went down a narrow hall and took a left at the end. Another narrow hall led all the way down the length of the church and to a back door which led out to a private court yard. Beyond the court yard was a garden and beyond that was a small apple orchard. The court yard was empty and the garden looked to be mostly empty, but for a few old nuns fiddling around with some rose bushes. Isabael slid off her shoes and hid them in a potted plant by the door and after quick consideration decided to leave her hat as well.

"I don't know why I even bothered with a hat, it's a scorcher today despite the clouds," she looked up to the sky which had been steadily filling with clouds since she left the mansion, "let's just hope they hold it until I'm done." She tip toed through the garden and passed the busy nuns. The ground was soft and she was glad she had decided to ditch the shoes. Once she reached the orchard the grass started to thin out and the ground was covered in a layer of old and new apple tree leaves. She breathed in deep to inhale the sweet smell of the old apples. Some were still clinging to the trees waiting to be picked by a passerby. Most had already been harvested or were withering on the ground, picked over by worms and birds.

She crept through the trees quietly, being carful not to step on any twigs or stir up many leaves. She looked for the path that had been marked on the trunks of the trees that would lead to the small koi pond and little bench she remembered as a child. The hot days spent in the apple orchard seemed like such a distant memory now, but the orchard looked as though no time had passed. When she reached the break in the trees she saw that the man she had been searching for looked as though no time had passed either. It had been at least fourteen year since she had seen him, but he had not aged a day. It was strange to her how much like a vampire he actually was, yet he hated them so much.

He remained standing with his back to her, staring into the koi pond like he always had on days she was sent to him. She wondered if he had changed after so many years of fighting and no one there to clear his mind and make him feel normal.

She took a few steps towards him and when he still did not turn around she walked up and placed her small hand on his arm. He seemed to jump slightly and she caught a glimpse of bright metal by his hand. She looked up at him and for a moment his eyes seemed so hard and cold that she was not sure that she still knew him, but then she saw the recognition on his face and they softened and became the sad blue that she knew them for.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he smiled broadly and hugged her, "I hear you've moved in with th' whore, how's she treating you?"

"Not half as well as she treats you," she looked up at him and winked.

He led her over to the bench and they sat down, "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this rare visit from such an angel."

"You mean you hadn't heard?" she paused and waited for him to realize what had happened, but he only stared at her with concern. Surely he must know what was going on. He had spoken so often with her mother and Isabael had been sure that he was meant to be part of the plan. He continued staring at her looking more confused than worried now, "You really don't know…I'm so sorry Alexander, but it's my mother, she's dead."


	10. Love and Monsters

Love and Monsters

Andersen's eyes grew dark and he stared off into the orchard.

Isabael placed her hand on his shoulder and felt his body go ridged beneath it. She pressed harder and he turned his body to face her, "When."

"About two days ago, it was some rogue vampires," her eyes shifted slightly.

"Yer lying," he grabbed her wrist and held on firmly as if he expected her to run away.

"It's not as simple as all that," her eyes got teary from the accusation, something she was not used to.

"Well then make it simple!" he squeezed her wrist harder and she flinched.

She realized, then, that Andersen had loved her mother. Not in the way humans love, but in the way only a monster could love. A love that made them forget who their allies were, who their friends were, who they served, and who they trusted. The kind of love that brought out the true monster inside of them.

Isabael had not begun to feel scared yet, but something must have shown in her eyes because Andersen loosened his grip and his face soften just enough, "Yer mother loved you very much, honor her memory and tell me what happened."

"I think you know what happened Alexander, she planned the whole thing herself. I didn't even know until it was too late and she was locking the door to my room," she kept her eyes fixed on his, determined not to back down.

"Why would she sacrifice herself like that, what gain could become of it," he moved his grip from her wrist to her hand and went back to staring at the koi pond.

Isabael wasn't sure what to say next. She stared out into the koi pond as well. She thought it would be easier to make him understand what was going on. It was true she had not seen him since she was a small child, but he had spoken to her mother so frequently it seemed that he should be more aware of what was happening.

"Why did ye come here today, it wasn't just to tell me yer mother had passed. If that were the case ye would have showed up here that very night, wanting revenge," he looked at her suspiciously.

"Help me kill her," she was now passed playing coy.

"Kill Integra Hellsing? What could ye gain from that?" his eyes were still dark, but there was a twinkle in them.

"Someone's freedom," she did not smile.

"Ye mean some_thing_," he frowned at her.

"Call him what you want, will you help me or not? Once she's dead I'll be the one he's bound to and I'll have the power to set him free. After that, Andersen, you'll be free to do whatever you want. No more Whore of Babylon in your way," she smirked.

He smiled and then nudged her leg with his knee, "Why'd ye bring a gun? Thought I might try and kill ye?"

"That's exactly why," she pulled her hand away from his.

"I did consider it, but yer offer to kill that whore changed my mind," he patted her on the head.

"You wouldn't have been able to kill me, anyway, I look too much like my mother," she didn't have time to smirk at him, he had her on the ground with his fingers around her throat before she had time to take another breath. She blinked up at him, shocked he had so brutally thrown her to the ground just to prove a point, but then she smiled. It was something Alucard would do. He would prove that no matter how immune you thought you were, no matter how loved or beautiful, how smart or sly, it didn't matter to a monster. If they decided to kill you there was little you could do to change their mind.

"But, you're not going to kill me, Andersen, you just want to prove your point. Well, point taken. I know I'm playing with fire and it's a lot more dangerous than you, priest," she poked the barrel of her gun into his throat.

"Very good, I didn't even feel ye move," he loosened his grip on her throat, but didn't let go.

"Because I didn't move, I had it palmed before we hit the ground. You've underestimated me, just like everyone else," she pulled back the hammer and let it click.

"Ye wouldn't shoot me would ye?" he looked at her unsure and released her throat.

"Why not? It wouldn't kill you. Probably just sting for a minute," she smiled and slowly lowered the hammer back into place and clicked on the safety, "would you mind getting off now? You're terribly heavy."


	11. The Elevator

The Elevator

Isabael walked slowing behind Father Andersen back to the church. She wanted to find something to say, but nothing seemed fitting. He trudged ahead of her like a zombie.

She felt a cold drop of water hit her cheek, "It's starting to rain," when in doubt, talk about the weather.

"Aye, 'tis," he trudged on, slower than before, in Isabael's opinion.

The sprinkle of rain quickly became a down pour Isabael started to shiver as the rain brought colder weather.

"Couldn't we hurry?" she was becoming irritated.

"Aye, I suppose we could," he turned around and scowled at her.

"What's your problem?" she took a few steps away from him before she said it in case his problem was her.

"Ye have lost yer way in the world, Isabael. Yer mother wouldn't be happy."

"How do you know what my mother would want? She's the one who sent me here. She's the one who told me to find him and to save him," she pushed passed him and started walking faster through the orchard. She had had enough of monsters and accusations for one day.

"How do you know she meant Alucard?" Andersen kept pace with her easily.

Isabael stopped just before the orchard ended, "Who bloody else could she have meant!"

"It's just something to think about. No mother chooses life of killin' for her daughter. If Integra Hellsing had a mother things might have been different. Consider yerself lucky ye had one for as long as ye did, "Andersen hugged her briskly then patted her on the head.

"Ye should be off then lassy, it's getting cold, ye'll catch yer death out here." he winked and headed off away from the front of the church.

Isabael cut through the garden and walked out to the church driveway. She decided to abandon her shoes, she couldn't leave the ghastly place soon enough. She reached for her phone to call Roger and was surprised to see that he was sitting in the drive already. She went to the car and got in the back.

"How long have you been sitting out here, you didn't need to wait I told you I would call," she glanced up to add in a thank you and jumped in shock, "What are you doing here!"

Alucard grinned at her, "Aren't you excited to see me?"

"Where's Roger?" she looked at him suspiciously.

"I didn't kill him if that's what you're implying. I kindly gave him the day off. You're all wet," he grinned cheekily.

"Yes, it's raining you idiot," she glowered at him.

"Where are your shoes?" he feigned a look of curiosity.

"Never mind my shoes! Just take me back!" she turned away from him and laid down in the seat.

She felt the car begin to move and closed her eyes with relief.

Alucard drove the car silently for awhile before he started to grow curious.

"What did he say about me?" he grinned to himself.

"Not everything is about you," she scowled at the back of the leather seat.

"It usually is," he flashed his teeth at her in the mirror.

"Well not this time. Now, it's about me so you can just deal with it," she sat back up and started sorting out her hair with her fingers.

"You don't seem like yourself today," he frowned and studied her in the car mirror.

"I don't feel like myself anymore," she frowned and stared down at her bare feet.

Alucard drove the car silently back to the mansion and pulled it around the back into the garage. He shut the garage door and left them in total darkness.

Isabael sat still for a moment letting the dark press against her eyes. She wasn't frightened or even curious as to why he closed the garage door or even why he was still sitting in the front seat of the car saying nothing.

After a few minutes she unbuckled her seat belt, "Well, I'm going to go to bed." She waited for him to say something snarky about how it was still day light or anything, but he remained silent.

She stepped out of the car and felt her way to the garage door carefully.

"Wait," his voice was deep and echoed through the quiet garage.

She turned around and waited for him to say something else, but again he remained silent. She shuffled her feet slightly hoping he would recognize it as impatience and say what he had to say. He remained silent so she turned back around and opened the garage door. Light flooded in from the hall and she turned around expecting to see him gone like he sally was, but he was still sitting in the car staring at the steering wheel.

She paused for a moment before leaving, trying to think of something she could say to him, trying to figure out what was wrong with him and what was wrong with herself. Nothing came to mind so she shut the door behind her and solemnly walked down the hall to the elevator.

As she approached the elevator a man she had never seen before stepped around the corner and slid opened the wall panel. She stopped and star, not sure if she should still take the elevator or avoid him and take the stairs.

He spied her from the corner of his eye and turned, "Are you getting it? It won't wait forever."

"Uh, sure," Isabael approached casually and kept her eyes on the man as she stepped it.

He followed her in and slid the wall panel shut before the elevator doors closed. "Which floor?" he asked as he pressed the third floor button.

"That one," she narrowed her eyes at him, assuming he was using some sort of mind reading trick and was following her.

"Ah, me too," he smiled happily.

"Yeah, what a coincidence," she took a small step away from him.

"Oh, no I don't believe in coincidences," he leaned against the elevator wall.

"Oh really? Then why are you going to the third floor? And who exactly are you," she felt like she deserved answers to some degree. It was her father's house after all.

"How terribly rude of me!" he stuck out his hand quickly, "I'm the doctor, I work downstairs in the infirmary. Hopefully I'll never see you while I'm on the job," he winked.

Isabael took his hand tentatively and shook it, "I'm Isabael."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Isabael. I hope you're enjoying your time at the Hellsing estate. It's quite an interesting house isn't it? Full of all sorts of secrets and impossible things."

"You still haven't said why you're going to the third floor," she dropped his hand and crossed her arms.

"Ah, yes! I have a patient who it staying up there. I'm going to check and see how she is doing. Maybe you have met her? Her name is Katherine. She had a very bad fall you see and…"

Isabael cut him off, "Yes, I know all about it. That's so nice of you to come to her. Most doctors have their patients come to them."

"Well, there isn't much for me to do when there isn't a war going on. And I'm only just downstairs, anyway," he shrugged his shoulders.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid opened revealing the wall panel that hid the elevator.

Isabael moved to step out and the doctor placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and backed away from him.

"I'm sorry," he took his hand away and displayed is palm up in her direction, "You're quite jumpy. If you ever need anything I'm just downstairs."

"Right, you said that already," she stared at him for another minute, surveying his features. He looked rather young to be a doctor at a powerful organization. He couldn't have had much experience yet and it seemed like Hellsing would need the most experienced doctors there were. They had to handle things that most people had never seen before. He must know about what the organization did. It would be hard to keep it a secret when people were coming in with werewolf bites, mysterious puncture wounds in their necks, and limbs torn off.

"What was your name?" Isabael realized he hadn't actually introduced himself.

"Everyone just calls me, Doctor," he winked and exited the elevator.

Isabael followed him out, but he was already halfway down the hall to Katherine's room. She decided to leave it be for now and turned the other way towards he bedroom. When she opened the door, Marco, came to greet her with much meowing and leg rubbing.

"I can always count on you, cant I kitty?" she picked him up and carried him to the bed where he quickly curled up and went to sleep. She climbed in the bed and followed suit. The day had been long and tiring and she now had a whole new list of things she had to consider. She felt like her whole life had been changed by the few words of a monster who she hadn't seen in years.

" There's always tomorrow," a little voice whispered in the back of her mind.


	12. The Doctor and Cat

For those of you who have missed Cat, here she is. She will be back permanently now.

The Doctor and Cat

Cat sat up to the sound of knocking at her door. She had not been asleep, but only laying in bed starring at the ceiling. She watched the door, not sure if she had heard a knock at all. Other than the brisk visit from the new girl and Integra and the nurses bringing her meals no one had bothered to come see her.

The knock came again and she blinked in surprise, "Uh, who is it?"

"It's the doctor," a muffled voice spoke.  
"Who?" Cat slid out of bed and pulled on a hoodie, but remained standing back from the door.

"The doctor!" the voice yelled exponentially louder.

"Oh! Right! Come in!" Cat looked around frantically to make sure nothing personal was laying around, then hopped back into bed.

The doctor opened the door slowly and peeked into the room. He scanned the corners briskly before shutting the door behind him.

"Well, hello!" he smiled widely.

She smiled meekly back, "Hello."

"You haven't called for me at all! I assume that means you've been doing very well or you find me quite annoying or repulsive," he paused and smiled at her again, "or both."

Cat laughed slightly, "No, that's not it at all. I just didn't have anything important to call you for. I didn't want to bother you in case you were busy. You are a doctor after all," she paused for a moment, then smirked, "You are a doctor, right?"

"Ahhhh, yes, well, we are only what it says we are on paper, correct? And I have a paper somewhere around that says I'm a doctor, so I suppose I am," he grinned with all his teeth, something she was used to seeing Alucard do frequently, but on the face of this man it was far less sinister.

"So! You seem to be quite a bit better by the looks of you. I'd say we can take off those braces and the bandages around your ribs and I can give you a clean bill of health. I can also give you a note that says no strenuous activity, especially monster hunting," he walked over to the bed and motioned for her to hand over her legs.

Cat watched him carefully as he moved towards her. She wondered if he had any sort of powers like many of the people at Hellsing. She had just been thinking that a clean bill of health would mean she no longer had an excuse to stay off the battle field. She kicked the covers back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed so he could take the braces off. Something she figured she could have easily done herself.

"You're probably thinking you could have easily done this yourself, it's true, but then we wouldn't be able to enjoy each other's company," he loosened the Velcro around one of the braces and slid it off.

Cat glared at him.

He glanced at her and ignored the glare while he loosened the other brace and slid it off as well. "Now for the bandages," he pulled a pair of scissors out of his pocket and snipped them in the air.

She narrowed her eyes at him again waiting for a response to her suspicions.

"You think that I'm reading your mind and that I might be a vampire or some other thing that Hellsing has collected? I assure you I have no such mind reading powers, but! I have been a doctor for quite some time and you learn to read people's faces. When I said you would have a clean bill of health you looked quite disappointed, which I could only guess was because you were not looking forward to fighting any longer," he smiled reassuringly.

"Alright, I guess that's a good enough explanation," she relaxed a little, but she still wasn't sure if she trusted him. After all, she had been at Hellsing for over eight months and she had never seen this doctor before, even when she had been injured on various occasions. They always just sent her to one of the soldiers medics.

"Right then! Just lie down on your stomach and I'll snip them off from the back. I'll have to prod you as well to be sure they've healed properly. It might hurt a bit from bruising, but it won't be too bad," Cat flopped onto her stomach and pulled her hoodie up just enough for the doctor to get to the bandages.

As he was snipping a thought crossed her mind about doctor-patient protocol. From what she understood any time a doctor was seeing a patient who was underage or seeing a patient who was going to be some sort of naked, they always had a nurse stand in as well to act as a witness should any funny business go on. Cat's eyes widened and she gripped the blankets in front of her.

"Are you alright?" the doctor continued poking around at her bones.

"Yes, I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine? Why are you asking?" she turned her head just enough to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"Well, you're holding your breath. Do your ribs hurt?" he stopped poking at her and pulled the bandage out from under her.

Cat realized she was holding her breath and let it out in a huge puff. She quickly pulled her hoodie down and sat up away from the doctor.

"No, they don't hurt. I was just thinking. Sometimes I have an overactive imagination," she felt sorry for thinking the doctor would be some sort of creepy sleaze. He had been so kind to her and here she was thinking he was about to molest her.

"Ah, but all the best people do," he winked and tossed the bandages in her waste bin. "So," the doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs, "what do you think of the new girl? She's already caused quite a bit of trouble hasn't she?"

"I haven't really spoken to her much, but I suppose so," Cat crossed her arms. She wasn't comfortable talking about a girl who had threatened to kill her in front of a man she hardly knew.

"You should get out and walk around tomorrow," he stood up sensing she was uncomfortable, "It would do your legs some good. They're probably all wibbly-wobbly from sitting around for so long," he got up and headed for the door.

"Only if that's the doctor's orders," she looked at him slyly.

"Oh, it is indeed," he winked at her and left the room.

Cat sat thinking about nothing in particular. She looked at the clock and saw it was only seven in the evening. She had dozed most of the day away so she was not tired in the slightest. It felt good to sit with her legs crossed and she could feel her muscles stretching happily. She wondered what it would be like to walk around the mansion like nothing had happened. She felt as though she would get pitiful looks from everyone who saw her and knew what had happened to her. She laughed at herself for worrying more about the embarrassment of facing people more than the fact that she had almost been killed.

"But, you weren't almost killed were you? You could have become the living dead if you wanted," a deep voice cooed inside her head.

"Shut up!" Cat jumped up out of her bed, "Shut up! Shut Up! SHUT UP!" she stomped over to her dresser and pulled on a pair of heavy sweat pants. She then stomped across the room to the armoire and yanked one of her guns out of it. She checked to be sure the clip was loaded and grabbed a spare before she threw her door opened and ran down the hall. She stumbled slightly on her weakened legs, but she didn't let that slow her down. She charged down the hallway and past Integra's office to the stairs. Once there she realized that walking down them would take ages in her condition so she sat down with her legs stretched out and slid down them like she had when she was a child. The voice inside her head was gone, but she knew exactly where it had come from and she had no plans to let the snarky comment slide. She had promised herself long ago that one day it would come to this and it finally had. She could not be more thrilled.

She made her way down the rest of the staircases and down the back hallway to the basement. As she rushed down the hall, Walter came around a corner and nearly collided with her. She dodged him quickly and kept on going.

"Miss Katherine! Whatever are you doing!" Walter abruptly turned around and rushed after her. As he was jogging he took his phone out of his pocket and called for Integra, "Sir Integra! I have just found Cat rushing down the hall towards Alucard's room! She's carrying her gun!" a loud laughing came from the phone.

"Try and slow her down until we get there, Walter. This should be a great show," Integra hung up the phone and looked at Alex, "Katherine is awake and she's on her way to Alucard's room with a gun," she jumped up from her desk and rushed down the hall to the elevator.

Alex rushed after her, "Should we stop her?" he slid into the elevator next to her just as she pressed the button for the basement entrance.

Integra smiled wickedly, "I wouldn't dream of it."

When the elevator stopped Integra and Alex jumped out to find a very frustrated Walter holding onto the hood of a very angry Cat.

"Walter! Let go, Walter! So help me if you don't let go of me I will shoot you! Don't think I'm bluffing, I'll shoot you in the bloody foot! I'm gonna turn that stupid prat into a pile of bloody carnage! I don't care if it doesn't kill him I want to see him as soup!" she struggled against the grip Walter had on her.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here Sir Integra. Perhaps you can talk some sense into her," Walter pulled Cat around so she could face her.

"Let her go, Walter," Integra smiled calmly.

"But, Sir! You can't just let her go down there in this state. She's being completely irrational," Walter protested, but let go of Cat's hood just the same.

"It isn't her you should be concerned for, Walter," Integra nodded at Cat and she turned around and rushed down the stairs as fast as she could.

Walter hung his head and rubbed his temples, "These women are going to kill me."

Alex walked over to Walter and clapped him on the shoulder, "Oh, come on old boy! They keep things exciting don't they?"

Cat took each stair carefully so she would not fall and walked quickly across the room to where the lamp Isabael had shown her was. She switched it on and walked over to Alucard's coffin.

She hammered on it with the butt of her gun, "Open up! I know you're in there so open up!"

To her surprise the coffin slid opened immediately and Alucard sat up and surveyed her. "Well, it has been quite some time, hasn't it Lady Deschain?" he smiled smoothly then looked at her gun.

Before Cat had reached the basement stairs she had cleared her mind entirely. She concentrated on one thought and one thought only. It was the first thing that came to her mind and she had painted the walls of her insides with it.

Alucard looked at her curiously, "Why are you chanting 'decoy'?"

She smiled as wickedly as she could and spoke the word aloud, "Decoy," then she raised her gun and shot him between the eyes. After this she proceeded, without pausing, to empty the eighteen bullet clip into his head and slowly down his neck and shoulders. Once this clip was empty she grabbed another out of her pocket and emptied it until all the way down to his waist was completely pulverized and floating in his coffin. Once this clip was empty she took a deep breath and put her gun away.

What was left of Alucard's body plopped backwards into the coffin with a wet splat. The soupy mess inside the coffin sloshed back and forth like a small ocean of blood. It slowly started to swirl around and take shape again as Alucard put himself back together.

Cat stood and waited for him to finish. The process took longer than she expected and she thought he was doing it on purpose. Finally he finished putting together the last of his face and he looked at her with a blank, but sinister expression.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she interrupted him, "Do not ever, EVER, underestimate me, monster. I will live and die at my own choosing and YOU have absolutely no say in the matter. I don't care who you think I am, I am Katherine Eleanor Deschain and I will choose my own fate on my own terms," she did not wait for him to respond and turned around to leave the basement. As she walked she listened for any snide remark or even for something to trip her and take revenge. She was not sure if she was pleased or disappointed when she heard a small chuckle of approval. She supposed she was not expecting much of a reaction anyway.

She reached the top of the stairs after what seemed like ages of climbing and the basement door shut softly behind her.

Walter rushed over, "Oh, thank goodness."

"Honestly, Walter. You act as if you thought Alucard would kill her," Integra rolled her eyes.

Alex walked over to Cat and hugged her warmly, "It's good to see you up and about. You had us quite worried for a long time."

Cat hugged him back, then scowled, "If you were so worried why didn't anyone come to visit me," she starred at everyone expectantly.

"Well," Walter spoke up first, "we thought that you didn't want any visitors."

Cat raised an eyebrow, "Why would you think that?"

"You were given the remote receiver so you could call for people, but you never used it. We assumed it meant you were not up for visitors, so we left you alone. You went through such a trauma we just assumed that it was normal you'd want some time to yourself," Walter hugged her after Alex was finished.

"I suppose that's my own fault," Cat blushed a little, "I sort of forgot about the remote and I guess I did want to be alone for a while."

Integra chuckled, "Well, you're out and about now so we can all forget about it and go back to our usual business. It's about time things got back to normal around here."

Cat laughed at her, "Normal? That's not the word I would use, but okay."

Alex and Integra made their way back to her office and Walter took Cat in the elevator back to her room.

"Are you sure you want to go back to bed? I could make you something to eat and you could watch movies in the rec room. You must be terribly bored of this room," Walter fluffed her pillows and blankets while Cat changed into proper pajamas in the bathroom.

"That's okay, I tired myself out and my legs feel like I've just walked 10 miles," she limped over to the bed and climbed in slowly.

"Well, as long as you're sure," Walter drew the curtains closed and made his way to the door.

"Walter?" Cat sat back up in bed.

"Yes?" Walter popped his head back in the door before closing it.

"That girl that came here, Isabael, do you know much about her?" Cat hoped that the girl had not already gotten to Walter.

"I know much about her, Miss Katherine," Walter's eyes twinkled.

"Should I trust her?" Cat looked him in the eye without blinking.

"I should think not, Miss Katherine," Walter bowed and shut the door behind him.

"Thank you, Walter," Cat whispered to herself.

She switched off the light and laid in the dark for about an hour before going to sleep. Just before she dozed off she thought she saw a large shadow in the window. She tried to open her eyes wider to see what it was, but a heavy sleep washed over her and she was unable to fight it. She drifted off into a deep dreamless sleep.

The next day Cat awoke slowly and looked over at the clock. It was only 8:30, but she felt very well rested. She looked over at the window and saw that the curtains were wide open and the sun was shining in, lighting the whole room.

"I could have sworn Walter closed those last night," she slid out of bed and stepped over to the window, rubbing her eyes. She looked down below the window and noticed some marks on the carpet. She leaned down closer and found them to be two very large boot indentions.

She smiled to herself and laughed. How typical of a sadistic vampire to take being shot into a bloody soup as a sign of forgiveness.


	13. An Old Friend

review please

An Old Friend

Cat squatted by the boot prints under the window for a few minutes and stared at them blankly. Nothing in particular crossed her mind and she felt very similar to an empty egg shell. After a while her legs began to ache so she stood back up and headed to the bathroom with a change of clothes. She showered and got dressed in a zombie like state and before she knew it she was standing outside of her bedroom.

"What should I do," she asked her bare feet.

As she expected they had no answer so she started downstairs towards the kitchen because eating was the only constructive thing she could think to do.

It was around 9:30 now, so Walter had already finished cleaning after the soldiers breakfast and wouldn't be back until lunch time. Cat found some cereal in the cabinet and made herself a bowl. She ate it mechanically without even bothering to notice how it tasted. After she was finished she washed the bowl and put it away. She left the kitchen and stood in front of the mansions front windows and stared outside. She watched the cars rush by and sighed.

"Am I even awake?" her voice sounded like it was echoing and she pinched herself hard on the arm, "Ouch! Maybe I am, but I'm smart enough to imagine pain in a dream so, maybe I'm not."

She decided that there would never be a sure way to tell and that she would just have to wait until she felt normal again, "What if I never feel normal again. What if I'm dead. What if I'm in a coma and I never wake up again and I'm just a vegetable lump forever until they decide it's too expensive to keep me alive so they unplug me."

She frowned at herself for being so pessimistic and headed towards the back of the house to the garden. She sat down in one of the lawn chairs and leaned back to watch the clouds.

After about an hour of dozing off, Cat woke with a start. She looked around wondering what had woken her. She couldn't recall if she had had a bad dream or heard a loud noise, so she got up and headed across the lawn to the soldiers barracks wondering if they had target practice outside.

When she got in view of the practice field she found it to be empty. The barracks were empty as well and so was the indoor shooting range and gun shed.

"Maybe I am dreaming. where on earth would everyone be? It's not a holiday…," she made her way around to the front of the mansion and entered through the front door.

"HELLO?!" she yelled as loud as she could.

Walter burst through the doors of the kitchen immediately and looked towards the yelling in shock. When he saw it was only Cat he relaxed, "My goodness Miss Cat, whatever are you doing."

"I don't know, Walter. Where is everyone? I feel like I'm in a dream," she looked down at her feet and started to shiver. She hadn't realized how cold it was outside until that moment.

Walter sighed and walked down the hall, "They're out training. I believe they went on a jog through the woods. Why aren't you wearing shoes, it's freezing outside. Come with me, I'll make you a hot cocoa."

Cat followed Walter back to the kitchen and sat down on one of the high bar stools.

Walter microwaved some Swiss Miss and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Walter," Cat ignored how hot it was a chugged it.

"Good gracious," Walter shook his head.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Walter!" Cat blurted out and set the mug down, hard, on the table.

"What do you mean you don't know what to do? You can do whatever you'd like. We don't expect you do be ready to go out on missions right away, you've only just recovered," Walter began pulling different things out of the fridge for the soldiers lunch.

"That isn't what I mean," she paused and tried to think of a way to explain her ridiculously complex feelings. Sixteen was far too young to have to manage everything that had happen to her in the past year. It wasn't fair. She should be thinking about friends and boys and homework. Not enemies and vampires and death missions.

Walter looked at her patiently.

"I have never questioned who I am or what I should be doing. It was always clear to me that I was different and I was fine with it. I even knew what I wanted to do with my life. I had a job like a regular adult. I knew who I was, but now, I don't think I do anymore," she thought she might cry, but realized she couldn't even manage to do that.

Walter chuckled lightly and Cat shot him a look of annoyance, "Oh, Miss Katherine, don't think me insensitive, but you are a sixteen year old girl. This is exactly the way you're supposed to feel when something big happens in your life. It's true, you don't have the normal things that most young girls have to worry about, but you have things that compare just the same. Rather than try to rationalize how you're feeling and make sense of it why don't you try and have a normal teenager day. Get a box of swiss rolls and sit in front of the television watching reality shows all day. It would do you some good."

Cat just stared at him. She didn't know if she liked his advice or hated it, which really only confirmed what he had just said. She thought it might make her feel better to have a tantrum like a teenage girl, but that just seemed like a lot of work and she wasn't very interested in screaming.

She decided to take Walters advice, so she grabbed a box of snack cakes and headed off towards the rec room to watch television. She cracked the door opened slowly to be sure no one was inside. She scanned the room and her eyes landed on the couch.

Sitting casually flipping through the channels was a fair faced man with loose black curls.

Cat stared at him without moving for a moment, "Surely he knows I'm standing here."

She heard the man sigh.

The proper thing to do would be run as quickly as she could back towards the kitchen and hope that screaming help would give her enough time to escape, but instead Cat walked into the room and shut the door behind her.

She cleared her throat and waited for the man to acknowledge her.

He turned his head as if surprised to find he wasn't alone, "Oh, there you are. I've been waiting for a while now. These television shows are quite entertaining, though."

Cat walked over to the far end of the couch and sat down, "How did you get in here?"

"Is that any way to greet and old friend?" he smiled coyly.

"Well then, it's good to see you again, Mr. Renard," Cat offered him a snarky smile.

"Oh, please Cat, call me Adrien," he lowered the volume on the television.

"Right, Adrien then, how did you get in here. That is, without Alucard coming after you," she pulled a snack cake out of the box and started to nibble at it.

"That would be a question for him. I just walked right up and let myself in. He didn't even come to inquire as to why I was here."

"Well then, why are you here," she wondered if he had come to kill her, but his intention had not seemed evil the last time she saw him and she didn't think he meant her any harm.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. You remember that I can see the future, right? So by now what I saw would have happened and I just wanted to see how you faired," he set the remote down and turned his body towards her.

"If you can see the future then couldn't you have just looked at what the outcome would be?" she questioned.

"It doesn't work quite like that all of the time. I could only see up until you fell and then whether or not you died was entirely up to you. At any moment you could have changed your mind and became a vampire or you could have just let yourself slip away into darkness never to awaken. You chose to live. It's actually very admirable. Dying is easy, it's living that's so tough," he smiled at her fondly.

"So, you're basically telling me that the future is not set in stone," Cat raised an eyebrow. Everyone knew that.

"I suppose so yes, but some things are far more likely than others and most people have their minds made up early on enough that I can see what will happen. You on the other hand really left it until the very last minute, no, the last second. That's why I had to come here to see how you did, because you decided so late that I couldn't even hone in on your present state," he stared at her very intently and she thought he was probably trying to read more into her future.

"What do you see in my future now?" she didn't think he would tell her without some sort of trade.

"Honestly, not much," he laughed at the horrified look on her face, "I don't mean not much as in your life is going to be boring, just that I can't really see it. When I look at someone's future it looks like I'm standing in it watching it as a bystander, but yours is so far away and it's clouded by some black smoke or really thick fog. I can't see very much through it."

"Is there anything you can see?" she knew that asking to see the future was a bad idea, but it was too tempting.

"Well, I can see you and Alucard. And then there is another girl who is very blurry. I can't get a read on her," he squinted his eyes like he was trying to see something far away.

"That's probably Isabael. I think she has some sort of powers," Cat grimaced.

"That's very possible. Humans can be trained to guard their minds," he tilted his head sideways.

"Can you see anything else?" Cat wanted him to tell her as much as possible before someone else found out he was here.

"Well," he paused and looked perplex, "There are just so many variables! I can see a baby, but then there isn't a baby. There's a man that comes and goes very sporadically. The girl, Isabael, comes and goes as well. There are flashes of the Hellsing woman and her husband. There are tears and anger. There is death, but there is also life."

"None of that is very helpful, just sort of scary," she absently opened another snack cake and bit into it.

"Yes, it's very frustrating for me. Usually I can see things so clearly," he frowned and his eyes widened slightly.

"What!" she knew that when something shocked a vampire, even just a little, it was something serious indeed.

"I don't really know," his face went back to its smooth serenity.

"You can't just give me that look and then say you don't know!" she looked at him outraged.

"Of course I can. If I don't know then I don't know," he shrugged.

"But! Did you see something bad?" she leaned forward expectantly.

He reached his hand up slowly and placed his forefinger on her forehead. As soon as he made contact a great bolt of electricity shot into his arm and he was thrown back into the couch cushions.

"What the bloody hell was that!" Cat jumped up from the couch and moved away from him towards the door.

"How the hell should I know!" he grabbed onto his wrist and rubbed it.

"What's the purpose of touching my head," she looked at him suspiciously.

"Touch makes the vision all the more clear. You wanted to know what I saw so I tried to get a better picture and you electrocute me!" he stood up indignantly.

"I didn't do it! It just happened. I thought it was you and it just backfired or something," she relaxed slightly when she saw he was as shaken up as she was.

"My powers are of sight, not lightning. Anyway, it seems like someone is now blocking you from me so it looks like I have over stayed my welcome. I'll be going now before they decide to take things to the next level," he offered her a quick bow then disappeared in a blur through the rec room wall.

Cat sat back down on the couch and opened another snack cake. None of the information Adrien had given her was really anything special. It wasn't rocket science to see the future of the Hellsing household. Of course Integra was meant to have a baby, but that didn't mean she would. There would probably be a lot of tears and anger through the years, but that's how things always were. Isabael might stay here and she might not. And there was always death and life.

Cat picked up the remote and changed to the TV guide channel. The clock in the corner said it was only 1:00. She sighed and flopped onto her back on the couch. Adrien had also mentioned that there was a man who came and went sporadically. She wondered who the man was. Maybe it was Lucian or maybe Pip. Maybe it was Colin, but she didn't think so. She hadn't seen him in ages and she preferred Lucian, anyway.

She flipped the channel to the Cooking Channel. There was a marathon of Bitchin' Kitchen on, so she hunkered down on the plush couch and took Walter's advice of having a normal teenager day.

By 6:00 she felt tired and sick to her stomach from eating an entire box of snack cakes. She pulled herself up from the couch and shut off the TV, ready to head to the kitchen for something real to eat.


End file.
